>>>>>And you couldn't be bothered to work out why ?

fln = putfile('Rename File:','','txt')

>>>>
>>>>not that at all viv. If the experts get it wrong, there is no hope for me. K
>>>
>>>What is the error you're getting?
>>>
>>>The putfile works fine, I've tested.
>>
>>actually i get the same error reading i get from viv's solution as well:
>>
>>function name is missing ).
>
>Huh? The line above doesn't work ? Works for me....

ahh... you're right - works by itself --- i went back to to context in program and discovered i had forgotten to close the text file first. sorry about that
thanks viv and naomi for staying with it. it works fine. I'm still working on tom's solution though to understand and field the options.
k